randomthriftology

The randomthriftology Mission: To provide readers with reading on all things to read random such as product reviews, cooking deliciousness, education tips, eco-friendliness, the greatness of little things and all that is time and money thrifty. Oh, and of course how to talk and write using ness and an odd phrasing of words. Oh, and anything else you can think of.

1.26.2012

Oh my gosh-ers.. At Barney's Beanery you get to toast your own marshmallows over your own fire and add your own toppings to make a s'more. Seeing as it is only $4, I do not even care about the potential fire hazard!

12.09.2011

So this week I decided to take up a random hobby. KNITTING! Well actually I wanted to take up the hobby of crocheting when I found "Crochet School" online where this awesome lady makes amazing videos teaching you everything you ever did not want to know about crochet. But...I decided I probably needed to stick to the basics and just be a knitter. Crochet maybe one day. Maybe. This was on Sunday night.

On Monday I made my way to Michaels-- Craft Emporium, where I realized this was probably the most inconvenient time of year to take up knitting. I fought my way through the hoards of old women and snagged some yarn (which they all eyed carefully... probably because they wanted to see what color to knit their great-grand-daughters 5th scarf with tassels for Christmas) and some pretty bad-ask* wooden knitting needles. Here is the live footage...OMG there was a sale. Fantasticulous.

I brought my supplies home and scoured the intra-net for the best teacher of knitting (secretly hoping Crochet School lady made some knitting videos as well- no such luck). Anyways... on the YouTube I stumbled upon (no pun intended ghahahahahah, that maybe was inappropriate?) this cheesy-butt video with some kids who were also learning to knit. I said to myself... "self, if these over-caffeinated teenagers can learn to knit then you can too," and thus I embarked on a knitting adventure with "Teen Knit Cafe." This is it... and it actually worked!

So far I've been knitting for a combined approximate hourage of 1.5 and this is what I have to show...

I have absolutely no idea what it is going to be. But what I do know is ... in the case of a zombie or any apocalypse for that matter you will want me with your cohort. Let me state my case...... when we have barricaded ourselves in a basement of an abandoned house in the middle of winter in South Dakota we will send someone for supplies. That someone who was searching for food and other items of use in an apocalypse to try and still live civilized amidst the insanity upon us may return with a ball of yarn and 2 sticks. You know what... I am going to take that yarn and 2 sticks and knit the young children we have been trucking across country some blankets to stay warm. And maybe if you are nice I will knit you one too so you don't freeze to death before the zombies eat you. Ya. So pick me, you want me in your apocalypse cohort. And that is why I am going to master the art of knitting.

* All naughty words in all posts will be changed to not naughty words. But in real life... this is how I really talk. I actually say "bad-ask" instead of you know what and "bits" instead of you know what and "fudgeroni with cheese" instead of you know what. It just is. Let it be.

ALL of these shows are super amaz-a-ling and every episode should be watched with complete concentration.... Why havn't you watched them yet? Get on it!

It is pretty much impossible to watch LOST without complete silence... If you want to talk you must wait until commercial breaks. Also, Hurley is named after Hurley from LOST and he is cool.

Sylar scares the poop out of me and Hiro Nakamura is the coolest! Just his name is fun to say. Where did this show go :(

I never thought I would like a show about Zombies... but seriously this is great! Love a good apocalypse!

Seriously funny. Love Charlie Day. Love. Day Man, fighter of the Night Man. Woooahhh-ahhh. Champion of the sun. Master of karate and friendship for everyone.

Party Down! WooWoo! Very dry humor, nonetheless amazing. I want to be these people for Halloween next year, such a great costume! This is a written record. When I am trying to figure out who to be next year and completely forget this was ever an idea, someone please remind me. Thank you in advance.

Tina Fey, you are mad-genius. This show is fan-freakin-tastic. I saw Tracey Morgan once at a live comedy show in NYC. I saw Tracey Morgan for the second time on a street in SOHO where he rolled up, parked his SUV illegally and had a broken? foot. I just want to make it clear that I saw and recognized him first before the swarm of people trying to get their pictures taken with him, but I was too much of a baby to say anything except for whispers to Angel. This will probably be what I do every single other time I see someone I know from the television.
Arrested Development! Michael Cera is a bit of a creeper in this one, but I still watched the entire series in less than a week. Totally worth it. There is talk (as there always is) of this becoming a movie? For realizes that would be fantastic. We all need a little more of the Bluth family in our lives.
I know The Office is getting old, but I still love, love, love it. The character development is fantastic. You feel like you know those people. I totally did not realize Mindy Kaling (Kelly) was a writer on the show. I can't wait to read her book. After watching however many seasons of the show you have to love all of those characters, no doubt. :)
New Girl! So even though this show is brand new this year, I really like it so far! Zooey Deschanel is fun plus I super-love the apartment they live in. For-realzies, I hope it stays good or gets better. Totally a feel-good comedy.
I started watching Modern Family because I was forced to through an assignment in a Parenting class at OSU. Gigantic thank you to that professor. Love everything about this show (especially the younger brother Luke, so hilarious)... and this random picture I found of it!
Undeclared. Jason Segel... I know you were hardly in this, but you were and are amazing. Yes this show is old, yes you should totally still watch it. Seth Rogan whhhhhaaat?
Freaks and Geeks. I absolutely loved this show as a kid. Judd Apatow why must they always cancel your fantastic work with amazing casting? (he did Undeclared too!) Freaks and Geeks had a short life, but man, it was great. Jason Segel, Seth Rogan, Martin Starr, James Franco?!?!? What!? Can you say cult classic, cause it is.

12.02.2011

Today I did my laundry.
Today my clothes were not all the way dry after using the dryer for the normal amount of time.

Every time I do laundry the dryer and I have a silent battle. The dryer knows that I will not pay the extra quarter for any extra dry time, no way Jose. I would rather have my clothes strung out from my bedroom lamp reaching to the door knob than give that dryer the satisfaction of an extra quarter.

Sometimes I worry that after not paying the extra quarter the dryer has a secret conversation behind my back with the other dryer (the one that probably dried my clothes well the last time but was not available this time) --the mean and nasty dryer telling the good dryer not to dry as well next time in an effort to break through my stubborn quarter hoarding. But they will not win, no they will not.

This is an awesome throw-back photo of my favorite coin laundry place in Columbus. It is along High Street in a super cool little neighborhood called Clintonville. Aptly named Clintonville Coin Laundry.

I actually looked forward to doing my laundry here... James and I would do our laundry while playing Rummie500, drinking the free coffee and watching the little 19 inch TV in the corner. James always forced me to pay the extra quarter. He really doesn't like semi-damp clothes. I guess that is why we are good together. Fond memories!

Except for the time the homeless lady stuck her face to the surface of the dryer that had my clothes in it. Not such a good time. UGHH, dryers!

On a related note... Ihave horrible luck with homeless people... I think maybe a post on that shall follow some time soon.

11.15.2011

So there are a couple tricks of convenience you learn after living in 4 different apartments over the past 4 years.

1. Bananas make excellent cell phone holders.

If you keep a constant supply of bananas you never have to worry about setting your cell phone on a sticky counter!

2. NEVER EVER throw away the box to an oven pizza.

These things are gold for not dirtying any dishes. Its the simple life. When the pizza is done you just scoot that thing out using your fingers right back onto the box.(Yes they will probably get slightly burnt. This is only a bonus if you are a criminal and need to destroy your fingerprints.). You then grab your pizza cutter and cut the pizza while still on the box. As you take slices you should only use paper towels. Do not dirty those dishes!

11.04.2011

I found this recipe on Pinterest... Brown Butter, Bacon & Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I left out the chocolate shavings and the chocolate bar and just added a little extra chocolate chips... I also used Turkey Bacon instead... That makes it healthier .. right? hah.

This is the dough.. amazing or what!? I shall freeze half for bacon cookies on demand.

Here is the link to the blog for the recipe... http://mouthfromthesouth.com/brown-butter-bacon-chocolate-chip-cookies/ <-- She is pretty funny if you read through the recipe. I especially like the part about the fused together cookies.

11.02.2011

YAY! After almost a month of pinning things on Pinterest I have finally completed a DIY. If you have never been to Pinterest.. check it out... www.pinterest.com . Unfortunately if you click this link I am going to look infinitely less creative. Anyways, look at these awesome Post-It note holders I made, one for me and one for James! They were so cheap to make and I LOVE POST-ITS!

10.29.2011

10.25.2011

I am owl, with completely unrelated fondness for Tootsie Pops. Remember when Tootsie Pop wrappers used to have those little stars on them that you could trade in for prizes and stuff? Ya! This one didn't have the stars anymore :( But that's OK, I never traded any in anyways.

3. Words with Friends -- If you don't know what Words with Friends is by now, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!? It is the greatest game for Scrabble-lovers or Scrabble-haters, everyone loves it! You can play with your friends or family or made up people online (who are not actually made up, they are real people, but I like to pretend they are computers). I have become a master at Words with Friends from playing it wayyyyy too much. If you are reading this, you should totally find me and start a game. I'll play back quick, I swear!

I have the free version of this game of course, so there are ads. You can make that not happen by paying, but I will probably never do that. Sorry Libby, I will play you back soon, promise!

The coolest part about the Words with Friends app? .... You can basically play Scrabble at your own pace! You don't have to get all anxious about putting down your tiles quick enough so that the next person can take their turn, making it your choice to stay up until 4AM playing.

4. Tiny Tower -- James randomly downloaded this app on my phone one day after seeing how awesome it was it was on Attack of the Show. I love to micro-manage things, and I love this game. You get to build floors in a gigantic tower and staff them with residents of the tower. I mean how much cooler can you get? This is my go-to app when I am bored or waiting for something.

Oh man, I love when people show up in the dinosaur costume!

The coolest part about the Tiny Tower app? .... It works on real-time and progressively gets more difficult. Right now it takes me 1 1/2 days to build a floor. I like to race the clock to try and build the next floor before the previous one is completed. oh.my.gosh.so.much.fun.

Oh my gosh! Parchment paper is amazing! It helped me make these delicious cookies last night (sans the nuts!)
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies/48acadc3-f7e1-46b5-bb33-33bee95f6cf7

First of all it was really difficult to bring myself to buy the paper. It is like $4 a roll! But totally worth it I now know, and you can totally reuse it! It saves time from scrubbing stuck cookies off the pan and time is money, right-o? Yay Parchment Paper!

10.16.2011

These posts will be a series of iPhone apps I use constantly... Does anyone else forget what they got their phone out for and just flash between pressing the apps and the home button while trying to look for something familiar to remember what your purpose was? YES?! Well these are the ones I flash between (In no predetermined order, of course, that would require way too much thought)...

1. Starbucks -- Since I am addicted to Starbucks iced coffee! You know when you get a Starbucks giftcard and there is that little sticker on the bottom right corner that tells you to register the card? WELL DO IT! And add more $$ to your card because Starbucks uses these cards for their rewards program! I mean its not the best rewards program in the business but after you make 5 purchases on your card you can get FREE refills while you are sitting at Starbucks on any brewed coffee (Iced Coffee... YESSS!!), get a free coffee on your birthday, and free flavorings.

The coolest part about the Starbucks app?.... You can pay for your coffee using your phone by the cashier scanning a digital version of your reloadable giftcard! Technology! Geeesh!

2. YELP -- I am new to the Yelp world, but am SOOOO glad I discovered it. Yelp is amazing for finding just about anything to do or anything to eat. You can read a gillion reviews for places to help you decide on the best to go to. Of course you have your occasional annoying ranter, but it's worth it, especially when you can see what a restaurants best dish is by reading reviews or the coolest place to see a movie. Sometimes when you "check in" to places they will give you a deal on your next visit like Buy One Get One or 25% off. So cool!

Why do people in LA love donuts and assorted pastries so, so much??

The coolest part about the Yelp app? ... The ease of Redo-ing your search in the area of your choice! It makes it so easy to find stuff around your current location or to pick and choose where you want the search to be.

10.14.2011

Ok so it has been forced to my attention that people are honking their car horns at an assortment of things. I myself have a firm belief that honking should be reserved for life or death situations therefore protecting the public from immediate danger, plus I hate getting honked at. I think I will start saying beeped at, honk sounds annoying. I have comprised this list of 15 reasons other people find it OK to honk-beep...in no particular order. I'm 100% positive there are many many more.

1. If you are driving too slow.
2. If you are driving too fast.
3. If you do not choose to illegally turn left on a red arrow.
4. If you do not begin to move your car before the light turns green.
5. If you move your car before the light turns green.
6. If there is a bicyclist in the bicycle lane.
7. If you are trying to back out of a street parking space and no one is stopping for you.
8. If the person at the red light in the car next to you is wearing the same sweater your ex-husband wore at your last birthday party before the divorce where he baked mini-quiche.
9. If there are pedestrians walking too slowly while you are trying to turn right. If they are old, or have a stroller plus 7 other kids, or 1 leg, this still applies.
10. If someone pulls out in front of you, or if you pull out in front of someone. I guess it works either way.
11. If you see your best friend from high school on the street as a bum.
12. If you slow down for an animal in the road.
13. If you even look like you may be texting or talking on your cell phone.
14. If someone frowns or smiles at you.
15. If is slightly unsure of what exit to take or where to turn.

Rahhhhh here is an angry beeeper!!!

Lay off the beeps my friends, you are not an enforcer of the law, or the apparent made up laws about driving speeds or how fast people should walk. Protect the power of the beep, let it only be heard as a message of the possibility of death. Thank you.

On a related note... apparently in LA, since we are proper folk, we must only address our beloved freeways (I have a tendency to call them highways, at which I can always expect to be corrected by a 4 year old on) with the word "the" in front of it. Example: I will take THE 5 to get to Burbank. I think the fastest way to Santa Monica is on THE 405. You need to get to the airport? OK, take THE 110 to THE 105.

As someone pointed out to me, it does kind of sound kind of caveman-like after being entranced by the 'the' to not say "the" in front of them. Example: Me take 680 to get to school. To get here you take 76 then 71. So silly.

I like Liz Lemons reaction to this situation in 30 Rock... which you can view on Netflix, look for Season 5, Episode 18 (Plan B) and watch minute 8:50-9:00 ! Do it immediately, you will not regret it. While you're there watch all 5 seasons of 30 Rock because Tina Fey is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

When you have a tissue box as cool as this one you just can't throw it away when all the tissues are done!! I cut the top off and made mine into a box to hold sick supplies like ibuprofen and and hand sanitizer and cough medicine and hydrogen peroxide! Woohoo! So the next time I don't feel well, just looking at this awesome box will probs make me feel better.